LOS ANGELES – The Tar Heels are here, looking happy and healthy and apparently okay with not being the center of attention at the West Regional Sweet Sixteen.

Frank Kaminsky is a special player for the Badgers (Badger Athletics)

Frank Kaminsky is a special player for the Badgers (Badger Athletics)

Those cheese heads from Wisconsin have the same swagger UNC used to carry at these events, with big man Frank Kaminsky the literal center of attention. His teammate Sam Dekker got the only question about Carolina during the Badgers’ press conference due to his almost lifelong friendship with Tar Heel J.P. Tokoto. They played together on various Midwest AAU teams in their youth days.

While Roy Williams did not need any prompting to praise his third-ranked opponent Thursday night at the Staples Center (home of the NBA Lakers and Clippers and NHL Kings, with statues out front of Kareem, Magic and The Great One Gretzky), he heaped hosannas not only on Wisconsin but on the other 14 coaches left in all four regional semifinals. Roy basically said nothing comes easy at this juncture because the competition is so dad-gum good.

image1Bo Ryan, in his 14th season at Wisconsin and bringing the Badgers to their fourth Sweet Sixteen in five years, has become a celebrity of sorts at 67. He is among the culprits behind the criticism that college basketball has become too boring, too team-oriented and too sloooooow. Wisconsin plays dogged defense but meticulously avoids fouls and mistakes. And its one bona fide star, 7-foot senior Frank Kaminsky, is the All-American example of a completed work in progress. The Big Ten MVP, first team All-American and leader for almost every National Player of the Year award, averaged seven minutes a game as a freshman, 10 as a sophomore and spent the  last two seasons blossoming into the most versatile big man in America. Compare that to Jahlil Okafor’s obvious one-and-done at Duke.

Ryan, who joked about his recent story in Rolling Stone (“Why would they want to interview me? But it was fun”), was not asked a single question about Carolina in his press conference and did not mention UNC, Roy Williams or anything light blue one time. His team then hit the open practice floor at Staples and, accompanied by the Badger marching band, went through a light workout typical of a day before such a big game.

IMG_6980UNC had a reasonable following for the first workout of the day, and most eyes were on Kennedy Meeks, who seemed to do everything his teammates were doing. Wearing a thicker brace on the left knee than the one he had on when spraining it late in the Arkansas game, big No. 3 jogged, ran lightly and went through all of the drills apparently unbothered.

According to Ol’ Roy, if he practiced Wednesday he would play Thursday, but don’t imagine Meeks getting much man-to-man time on Kaminsky, whose game is from low block to three-point line. Brice Johnson was asked if he, Meeks, Joel James and Isaiah Hicks had joked about who would get the assignment of chasing Kaminsky around his offensive end, and Johnson kind of nervously said no one was joking about such a serious matter.

“We don’t get the defensive game plan until just before the game,” Brice said. “We practiced a little zone this week, but no more than usual.”

The game tips off here at 4:47 PDT Thursday, and by the time the Hollywood Who’s Who and expected throng of Arizona fans arrive and settle in for their match against heavy underdog Xavier, either the Badgers or Tar Heels will be out and on their way home, their season suddenly over as the Big Dance does to everyone except the winner one week from Monday night.

Carolina is loose and unfazed by its own underdog role. But it must realize that 26-11 and a No. 15 ranking doesn’t compare to No. 3 and 33-3 Wisconsin, a six-point favorite. How to contain the self-made Kaminsky and hold down Dekker and the other Badger ball-controlling aficionados will be the key, because the Tar Heels won’t score their season average of 78 points with the pace Wisconsin creates.

Far bigger shockers have occurred in this event and, as they say, that’s why they play the game.

For the Heels to hang around this weekend and face an even better Arizona team Saturday night, they will have to play that game extremely well – better than any they have played so far this season.

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